The president of the Mozambique-Italy Chamber of Commerce (CCMI), Simone Santi, said on Friday 13 October that the Italian business community “continues to believe” in the recovery of the province of Cabo Delgado, stressing that progress in the fight against terrorism opens up an optimistic outlook for investors.
“The situation seems to be quite under control [in Cabo Delgado] and we are very optimistic,” he said during a press conference as part of the visit to Mozambique by the head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni.
According to the information shared, there are at least 15 Italian companies operating in Cabo Delgado, a province in northern Mozambique that has been facing an insurgency for six years, in different areas, as well as the multinational Eni.
“We believe in this stability, and Italy is on the list of Mozambique’s main partners,” he emphasised.
The province of Cabo Delgado has been affected by a conflict since 2017 that has terrorised the population. Groups of armed rebels have pillaged and massacred villages and towns all over the province and a variety of attacks have been claimed by the ‘arm’ of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in that region. The conflict has already caused more than 4,000 deaths (data from The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project) and at least one million displaced people, according to an assessment made by the Mozambican authorities.
The concessionaire for Rovuma Area 4 is already discussing with the Mozambican government the development of a second floating platform, a copy of the first and called Coral Norte, to increase gas extraction.
A source from the Italian oil company assured Lusa that “Eni has finalised the Development Plan, which is currently under discussion with the partners and the Mozambican government for final approval”. According to the same official source, Eni is at the same time moving forward with acquisition processes, environmental impact studies, including contracts associated with drilling.”
This plan involves the acquisition of a second FNLG floating platform for the Coral North area, identical to the one that has been operating to extract gas since mid-2022 in the Coral South area.
Eni Rovuma Basin (ERB) is the project’s delegated operator. Area 4 is operated by Mozambique Rovuma Venture (MRV), a joint venture co-owned by ExxonMobil, Eni and CNPC (China), which holds a 70 per cent stake in the concession contract. Galp, Kogas (South Korea) and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (Mozambique) each hold a 10 per cent stake.
Significant recoverable natural gas resources have been discovered in Area 4, including the Coral Sul reservoir, where a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) production plant, known as Coral Sul, is already in operation.
